Joplin, MO – With all five scored athletes finishing in the top 10 individually, Malone University wins their first NCCAA Division I Men’s Cross Country National Championship since 2011. Hayden Schmidt led the way for Malone with a second-place individual finish of 24:49.5 to help the Pioneers score 33 team points. Tanner Bailey of College of the Ozarks won the individual title with a time of 24:32.9.

Malone doubled-up the second place team of Mid-America Christian University (66 points), and finished nearly 50 points from last year’s national champion Campbellsville University (79 points) who took third place. 

With the national championship, Zach Freskenko from Malone earns NCCAA Coach of the Year honors, his first on the men's side. 
 
Highlights:

• All five athletes who scored for Malone earned NCCAA All-American honors. Hayden Schmidt (2^nd – 24:49.5), Yahya Jawadi (4^th – 25:18.8), Wyatt Royster (8^th – 25:37.0), Zavier Medina (9^th – 25:40.0), and Xander Heil (10^th – 25:40.6). 
• 12 runners finished the 8,000-meter with a time under 26 minutes; the top two finished with a mark under 25 minutes. 
• Second and third place teams Mid-America Christian and Campbellsville took four of the five remaining All-American spots, with Tanner Bailey of Ozarks finishing first overall for the final All-American honor. 
• Chase Porsche of Judson University was the top individual qualifier to finish the 8,000-meter with a mark of 26:55.1 at the Tom Rutledge Cross Country Course in Joplin, Missouri. 
• Malone earns their NCCAA best 22^nd NCCAA Division I Men’s Cross Country National Championship in program history. 

Results from the NCCAA Division I Men’s 8,000-meter can be found here. A full list of award winners can be found here.

About the NCCAA
Established in 1968, the National Christian College Athletic Association uses intercollegiate athletics to further the Great Commission and is committed to equipping student-athletes and coaches to make a positive impact for Christ. The NCCAA currently holds 23 national championship events, along with one national invitational for 88 member schools across 28 states and two Canadian provinces. For more information on the NCCAA, visit our website, thenccaa.org, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter/X, and Instagram at @thenccaa.